Master-planned community tour in April billed as Houston's biggest

Waterways and trails are among the amenities residents enjoy in Fort Bend's Riverstone development. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Sitterle Homes is one of the newest builders in Riverstone, with luxury garden homes priced from the $300,000s. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Taylor Morrison has several model homes open in Avalon at Riverstone. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Cross Creek Ranch in Fulshear will have dozens of homes on the April tour. photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Amenities at Cross Creek Ranch in Fulshear include pools, tennis courts and the 150-acre Flewellen Creek Park. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Tuscan Lakes in League City is one of nine communities on the April tour. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

The aqueduct at Tuscan Lakes entry is designed in the style of Italy's Tuscany region. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Homes in Fall Creek are priced from the $170,000s to the millions. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

Fall Creek is built around the Golf Club of Houston, home to the PGA's Shell Houston Open.
Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

A resort-style pool is a Fall Creek amenity. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

A 10-acre park is a recreation hub at Fall Creek, 15 miles northeast of downtown Houston. Photo: The Johnson Development Corp.

The Johnson Development Corp., whose planned communities are scattered throughout the Houston area, has announced a 500-home tour for April weekends.

Started last year on a smaller scale, this year's event will include more than 100 model homes and nearly 400 homes that are ready to be moved into. The tour will encompass nine master-planned communities.

"We're dubbing it, 'Houston's largest home tour,' " said Kristi Steward, marketing director for the corporation's Woodforest and Harmony communities.

One reason for the event is burgeoning demand, she said.

"We've asked all of our builders to beef up our inventory levels because we're seeing more and more prospects come in and say, 'I need a home in 30 to 60 days,' " Steward said.

Demand is especially high in Montgomery County, where employees of Exxon Mobil's new campus and associated businesses are looking for move-in ready homes, she said.

All of the tour homes will be open 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays and noon to 6 p.m. Sundays. Admission is free.

The nine communities are:

Cross Creek Ranch in Fulshear, near the Grand Parkway and FM 1093.

Fall Creek in northeast Houston just inside Beltway 8. Fall Creek surrounds Golf Club of Houston, home of the Shell Houston Open.

Harmony in northeast Harris County, five miles east of Interstate 45 near the new ExxonMobil North Houston campus.

Imperial, a mixed-use development surrounding the historic Imperial Sugar refinery near U.S. 59 and U.S. 90 in Sugar Land. Imperial's first residential neighborhoods include patio homes and one- and two-story townhomes.

Riverstone in Fort Bend County, near U.S. 59 and the Fort Bend Parkway. Riverstone is Johnson Development's top-selling community, ranked No. 2 in Houston and No. 6 in the nation, according to the developer.

Sienna Plantation, a 10,000-acre development along Texas 6 in Fort Bend County. It includes five Fort Bend district schools and three water parks.

Tuscan Lakes in League City on Texas 96, two miles east of Interstate 45.

Willow Creek Farms in Brookshire, just south of Interstate 10.

Woodforest, seven miles west of Interstate 45 in South Montgomery County.